Aufmerksamkeit für Europa.: Eurobarometer, empirische Sozialforschung und die Europäische Kommission, 1958–1979

Abstract

Attention for Europe. Eurobarometer, Empirical Social Research and the European Commission, 1958–1979 Public opinion polling became one of the most important political instruments during the second half of the twentieth century. After its formation in 1960, the new press and information office of the European Commission (later Direction General X) soon became aware of the importance of surveys. Its members tried to develop an information service that mimicked the formation of public opinion on the national level, but failed to achieve this goal – due to structural constraints, political restrictions and a restricted focus on the own European institutions. The actors of the press and information service embraced the idea of a united Europe which had yet to be brought about with the help of political integration. Thus, polls were needed as an instrument to build a common public, as polling results would prove – it was hoped – that a united Europe was commonly wished for. The Eurobarometer was at the heart of this development when it finally became established in 1974. It came about as an element of the broader idea to build a common public sphere in Europe with the help of political discussions, as it was developed by members of a Europeanized epistemic community concerned with empirical social research. Much later, it spilled over into the general public – but paradoxically, as a negative discourse on a unified Europe that was decidedly not supported by all Europeans.